This blog is not affiliated in any way with Cindy Crawford. Even if she is its de facto inspiration. It's also not affiliated in any way with Hayden Panettiere, who's earned joint top billing on this blog because she makes me happy. And that ain't easy.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

You knew something big was going to happen when the Sheriff's Department and the Fire Department, with their trucks, made a special visit to the new Rooms To Go showroom in Naples, Saturday, Dec. 16.

By 10 a.m., parking in the lot of the superstore was at a premium, as police directed traffic. News teams from Naples to Ft. Myers jockeyed for space, as film crews from Rooms To Go prepared for the grand entrance of what seemed must be a rock star. Velvet ropes wound around the store as fans vied for a place in line.

Security was tight when supermodel Cindy Crawford jumped out of a big, black SUV and made her way through the crowd to sign autographs for shoppers and fans at 11 a.m. The nasty weather didn't keep her fans from showing up by the dozens, some of whom lined up outside the store as early as 8 a.m., hoping to catch a peek of the supermodel-turned-furniture-designer.

"I love the way this store has displayed my furniture," stated Crawford. "I was here two days ago filming a television commercial, and I got to see the store before anyone else. I'm really sorry I brought this rain, although it was nice of everyone to come out."

Although I have been in the modeling business for over 35 years, and even did a show or two with Cindy before she became the Ubermodel of the 80's, and we had the same agent, I have seldom ever seen a supermodel age as well as she. The modeling business is a hard one, and a supermodel lives and works extra-hard, i.e., Janice Dickenson and Naomi Campbell, but this super girl looked super great.

Crawford entered the store wearing extremely tight stove pipe-legged jeans with an ivory embellished blouse and super high heels ... she knows her fashion. Her hair and makeup were camera-ready.

I have to admit, Crawford looked even better than in her supermodel days on the runways of the world. Two children and a happy marriage later, she was the most stunning I have ever seen her, along with having the skinny hips of a 12-year-old. She was every bit the professional, no diva attitude here. She talked to everyone and smiled as she signed autographs.

Chris and Mindy Fitzgerald brought their small children John and Megan to see the furniture designer. "I want to see the pretty lady," stated little John, although it looked like this was more for dad, Chris.

The crowd, in fact, was made up mainly of teenage boys and older men and women, without many aspiring models-to-be. When onlookers Jen Kruza and Kathryn Khan were asked if they had any aspirations of modeling, both girls giggled and said, "We are just fans and wanted to see if she was as pretty in person as photographs."

Others did not want to give their names. "The guys in the office would never let me live it down if they knew I was here," added one Naples worker. Another gentleman stated, "I told my wife I was going to Home Depot."

Crawford started designing her furniture line for Rooms To Go several years ago. It has grown from a few pieces to an entire collection spanning the store. "I wanted to create furniture anyone would love to come home to... well-designed and well-priced," said Crawford.

Her knowledge of colors, fabrics and design has served her well; as a model, she has an eye for what looks and works well together. Her creations range from contemporary to traditional, to high-tech to smooth. She seems to want to design for everyone. If one thing is for sure this holiday season, I'm not eating much... I want hips like Crawford's!

The James Horner Spot.

The Tell Them Who I Am Spot.

...is a 43-year-old guy who likes listening to film and TV music, whose days of eating entire packets of biscuits are gone thanks to the ol' diabetes, whose hair - thanks to genetics - now has a bald spot on top but who is fortunately 6'2" so it's hard to see, who enjoys the box (particularly American shows - and the often-made British claim that "we only see the best of US TV" is a fallacy as anyone who has cable will testify. I think it's Americans who only see the best of Br... I hate that term, so I refuse to sully this blog with it), who's gotten most of his friends through stories and the net, who loves writing about attractive female celebrities, who slaves at a direct mail company, and who isn't as sorry he grew up in Barbados between 1976 and 1993 as he used to be. Oh, and he doesn't seem any emotionally different from when he was 12. A man really is a child grown up, child is father of the man, and so on...